Key Indian-American insider trading witness avoids jail

New York, July 20 (IANS) Anil Kumar, a former Indian American McKinsey executive, avoided jail time after prosecutors hailed his “extraordinary” cooperation leading to the conviction of hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam for insider trading.

Kumar, 53, who faced up to 25 years in jail, was Thursday sentenced to two years probation for his role in an insider-trading scheme involving Galleon Group LLC co-founder Raj Rajaratnam, CNBC reported.

In addition to the two years probation, United States Circuit Judge Denny ordered him to pay a $25,000 fine and forfeit $2.26 million.

Kumar was a key witness in Rajaratnam’s trial last year. Earlier this year, he also testified against his mentor, former McKinsey managing partner Rajat Gupta.

He detailed how Rajaratnam, a former classmate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, recruited Kumar in 2003 to share inside information about McKinsey clients, including chip maker Advanced Micro Devices.

Kumar testified that he continued sharing information with Rajaratnam until the two were arrested in 2009.

At Rajat Gupta’s trial, in which the former McKinsey head and Goldman Sachs board member was accused of funnelling inside information to Rajaratnam, prosecutors used Kumar’s testimony to counter defence claims that Gupta and Rajaratnam were not close associates.

In a letter to Chin urging a light sentence, Assistant US Attorney Reed Brodsky wrote, “Kumar’s significant, powerful and timely cooperation has provided substantial assistance to the Government in the investigation and prosecution of two of the most high profile defendants convicted of illegal insider trading in history.”

At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Chin also praised Kumar’s cooperation, noting that he never accessed the money Galleon sent him, CNBC said.